Everyday Beauty

Oh, and One More Thing.....

.....I wanted to show you. I  found this pretty little thing during my craft store spree last weekend. It is a glass-front curio/shadow box case with a hinged door and glass knob. It's intended to be hung on a wall, but I knew as soon as I saw it that it would make a fabulous jewelry box! I bought two.....one sits on my dresser in the bedroom and this one is in my studio sorting out vintage jewelry that will be re-created into pieces for my Found Object jewelry and Bundles of Baubles. (goodies coming in April!)

With a glass top and divided sections, it makes perfect sense as a storage case, don't you think? You can see it all at a glance, yet it won't get dusty from being uncovered.

Here are some pieces up close. Onyx Beauties and Pearly Girls.

Sparkly Bits.

Old Buckles.

Pretty Favorites.

Shining Strands.

Functional and beautiful......I needed that.

Sorry about the glare from the glass here. I couldn't get a shot without it, but I wanted you to see the cabinet in it's entirety.

The box is at Michael's and is still 40% off girls!

Tokens of Love

On this most romantic of all holidays, I thought I would share some little tokens of love that I've gathered along the way. Such a timesless symbol, I've always liked the shape of a heart, but never had all these items in the same place as a collection.

They have impact as a collection, and I think I'll pin them to a board somewhere, all together as one big happy heart family. These old earrings, brooches, scatter pins, pendants, barrettes and shoe clips can be found pretty readily at flea markets. I didn't realize I had so many until I went scrounging around in my jewelry boxes. The large yummy beige pearl one is my favorite!

A old gem of an evening bag. Aren't the colors and the beadwork beautiful? And the unusual oval shape. This one sits in a box on my dresser.

I found these vintage Valentine tags at a local antique mall. The scalloped edge, silk cord, soft colors and beautiful script are all very much "me". I was drawn to it and didn't mind paying a little more for such a treasure with a sweet sentiment.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! I wish you as much love as your heart can possibly hold! Until it overflows. Not just today but everyday in this life. Make the moments count. You can't get them back. Make someone happy. Be nice. Share your love. Open your heart. Pass it on.

xo Andrea

Bits of Beauty

I've had a rough couple of days. Nothing major and certainly nothing that most mothers don't go through at some point. Just a major lack of sleep and not knowing if Sam is getting enough to eat and wondering why he seems to cry 24/7. I have so much to do and the days seem to slip by. Am I doing something wrong? I'm not sure. I could cry at any given moment and feel like soaking in a bubble bath for a week straight. No phones, no computer, no cooking, no obligations. Just quiet stillness.

So, to cheer myself up a bit, I walked around the house and started snapping pictures of my favorite little bits. My everyday beauty. I don't do this often enough. I love our home and all of the little things inside of it. These small things make me smile. As I sifted through the pictures I took, I found that most of them had flowers in them. My eye is just drawn in that direction I guess. I'm certainly ready for Spring flowers. This non-daylight savings crap is for the birds! I need sunshine and light and longer days.

This is an old mirror on the wall in the foyer. My mom and I never visit each other empty handed. She brought this for me when she came out in October for Sam's birth. It's one of my very favorites.

The picture above was random luck. I was rearranging things on some nearby shelves and had set everything on the buffet while I dusted the shelves off. I glanced over at the buffet and thought to myself, "this looks like a table at a flea market." I loved this vignette I had created purely by accident. I almost didn't want to put everything away!

This is my mom as a child. And some old barrettes I've gathered along the way.

Just a beautiful old corsage. The faded colors are to die for.

This old aqua hatbox was found hiding at the top of my grandma's closet when I visited her last summer. She always asks me to come over and go through her things and take whatever I'd like. There are some really cool old things hiding in that house. She also gave me most of these old beaded cocktail rings (below). They sit on this porcelain hand on my dresser.

So, there you have the nickel tour of some of my favorite things. There are lots more, maybe for another rainy day. Thanks for "listening" to my ramblings. Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully a better one. So, does anyone want to come over and cook dinner?

Merry and Bright

It's definitely beginning to look like Christmas around here. Boxes are scattered around my kitchen and family room, and I am enjoying peeking into each one and remembering the various ornaments and decorations I have been given, purchased or made. The picture above shows some of my flea markets finds. Almost all of these were purchased at my favorite flea market near my parents' house in Ohio. And none were more than $1 a piece.

 

I don't use red in my Christmas decorating (you're not surprised are you?) so it's sometimes a challenge to find ornaments and decorations that suit my preferred palette. That is one of the reasons I am drawn to these vintage glass bulbs. The soft colors and chipped patina combine to make them feel almost magical. So shiny and reflective and, well, old. I just love old.

There's a lot of glass glitter being scattered around here as well. Here is an old feather tree on a glittered pedestal. And below is a corner of a banner that I made from a kit Pam Garrison sold last year. It's tucked in the tree. The sign says "Buon Natale", which is "Merry Christmas" in Italian. I'll have to take a better picture once the tree is complete.

A simple wreath hanging on an old window that I covered in ledger paper. You don't have to go over the top to make it festive. In fact, I think the unexpected little details can be so special.

And last but not least, a sweet baby ornament that I just bought for Sam's first Christmas. I thought it was too precious to resist.

Well, I'd better get back to unpacking before the baby wakes up.....I took this picture an hour ago, and he hasn't moved an inch since I snapped the photo!

Giving & Receiving

Hi everyone. Yes, I'm still here! Just having a bit of a rough week, physically speaking. The car ride to Ohio and back was torture on my poor legs. They are throbbing. And lots of other pregnancy-related pains seem to be presenting themselves on a daily basis. On top of that, I am no longer sleeping. Some nights I sleep an hour or two. Some nights not at all. I'm running on empty! Oh, well, I guess it's just all normal pregnancy stuff. I just didn't have these issues with my first pregnancy, so it has caught me by surprise.

Anyhoo, I hope you all had a nice long weekend. We enjoyed the company of family and change of scenery. Mario and his cousins ran around the yard like maniacs and had a ball playing together. My new niece was baptized, and I'm so glad we were there for that special day. My mom and I hit the flea market (another reason my legs hurt......shame on me.) and found some treasures. The picture at the top is a glimpse of some old jewelry I found. I'll finally be able to get the Flea Market section of the website up and running with some Bundles of Baubles and Bundles of Buttons! I hope you like them. I'll let you know when they are listed. I also found some vintage ornaments in my colors to add to the tree this year. I hoping to finally get around to making a wreath out of these.

And now, without further ado, the winner of the 100th post Sparkling Glass Glitter Giveaway is Dede!!!!!! Congratulations Dede! I'll be sending you an email to get your mailing address and shipping your two bottles of glitter out this week! I hope you enjoy them!

For any of you who may be interested, the 2 new glitter colors will be for sale in the shop on Saturday. I'll post again to let you know exactly when.

Speaking of giving things to people, so many sweet and thoughtful gifts have come my way lately. I just wanted to share a few of them with you.

This is a gift from Wendy, a sweet woman who I've kind of gotten to know through my blog. She wanted to share some of her vintage lace collection with me. Lucky me! The box arrived covered in vintage wallpaper, and I hated to have to tear it open. I love how she covered this container and embellished it with tags and lace and an old rhinestone jewel. Pink and brown......she's got my number for sure. Just look at all of the lovely aged lace. Yum.

My friend Pam made this special journal and brought it over to my house the day before I launched One Hundred Wishes. I use it to record my thoughts and plans and milestones for the business. I know I'll enjoy looking back through this journal in years to come to see how things have evolved and to remember the beginning stages of One Hundred Wishes.

Pam also made this! It's a vintage wooden spool that she crafted into a vase of sorts to hold all of the "flowers" she tucked inside. It sits happily on a shelf in my studio. I really enjoy surrounding myself with art made by friends and fellow crafters. It makes me feel that I'm a teeny tiny part of a creative web of wonderful, generous women.

This was given to me by my friend Dana. A tablet of stationery covered in floral paper with an "A" on top. And this little old stork! She knows I fall for anything vintage-baby related. How cute is this stork? I just love it! Can't wait to find the perfect little nook for it in the nursery.

Those are just a few bits of generosity that have come my way lately. It's fun to get surprises and just as fun to give them to others. George says I do so many giveaways, I'll never make any money! I don't care......it's fun!

The weekend is almost here. I can't wait. I'll be back (I promise) with a shop update this Saturday (or sooner). My foyer looks like a warehouse. Lots of shipments arriving and newness to share with all of you, including new ribbons, garlands, and some velvet surprises!

Have a lovely day!

I Can Smell the Ocean

Yes indeed. And I can hear it calling my name. We're heading to the beach for the weekend, and I just can't wait! I always wished I lived near the ocean. Could see myself spending hours there. It's funny that many people I know who live on the coast hardly ever go to the beach. Then there are those of us who long for it. Such is life I suppose. It's human nature to take for granted what is right in front of you. You just get caught up in the day to day stuff. I could so be a beach bum though......

Here is some of my collection of vintage shell jewelry from the 40's and 50's. Love the soft colors and gentle curves of the shells. Nature meets fashion I guess you could say. Most of these are earrings, but there are a few pins in the mix too.

These old necklaces remind of the candy necklaces with each little candy bead strung on there. One of them still has the Polsky's department store tag hanging from it. Polsky's was an old store in downtown Cleveland in the 40's, 50's and 60's I believe. My grandma used to work there as a saleslady in the Juniors dept. And look who's peeping over the table. Always underfoot, he is.

Adorable little treasures from the sea. A few old ones in there but most of them are new ones that I've picked up from those junky beach shops that litter the coast. I just love these little change purses.

OK, time to pack up the beach bag and get my maternity moo moo bathing suit out of storage. I feel like such a beach goddess in that thing!

See you Monday! Enjoy the weekend! xo andrea

The Ones I Can't Cut Up

I generally seek old hats with the intention of cutting the flowers off and using them in art or incorporating them in a gift's wrapping. But there are just some hats I can't bring myself to disassemble. Just can't do it. So, they become decorations in the studio or sit atop a lampshade in the bedroom. Here are some of the chosen few.....

 

Purses: vintage wicker & velvet yums!

After the last post, I thought I should show you some of my favorite old purses. I always love to see the collections that other women accumulate. I've got a thing for accessories (don't we all?), but especially vintage ones. There's an entire drawer in my dresser devoted to vintage head scarves. I used to wear them in my hair fairly often, as headbands. Not so much anymore. Maybe I'll have to go digging through that drawer and pull a few out. Then there's the box of beaded change purses and old compact mirrors. How much of this stuff do I need, I ask you? Seriously people. Crazy. I've been accumulating these things for years and years. I was the girl in high school with the unusual purses from flea markets, when everyone else had the latest designer bag. I never wanted to see other people with the same clothes and accessories as myself. Even then, I wanted old things. They have a special quality I can't explain. But I'm pretty sure a lot of you get it. So, anyway, here are a few of my favorites from the wicker with velvet strawberries or roses genre.

You may recognize this one from my very first post on this blog, back in February. And she's also a part of my banner.

This red one is the latest addition. Bought it for a song. It's even got little pearl-filled pea pods nestled in between the strawberries.

Then there's this aqua one with just a few dangling berries. But still cute I think. It looks like someone made the top part and added it to the purse. It is probably just cardboard stitched between two layers of aqua felt with a pinked edge.

This one is not velvet, but is wicker and has some sweet flowers atop...so I thought it was photo worthy.

And then these 2 with the most wonderful color combination I have ever seen. I love how the velvet has been twirled around to make the roses. These are sitting on my dresser in the bedroom because I just love to look at them. Our bedroom is sadly neglected and will probably be the last room we redo....one of these days. So, at least I've got some pretty things sitting around to offset the hideous ceiling fan and furniture!

So, there you have a little sampling of my favorites..... now don't you all head over to ebay and start bidding on these! Tee-hee. Just kidding. I'm willing to share the velvet love!

I'll do another post someday to show you some others......in the meantime, I've got to finish making more goodies for the shop!